In the study, released last week, J.D. Power and Associates, a global marketing information company headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., surveyed 81,500 purchasers and lessees of new 2008 model-year cars and trucks, after 90 days of ownership, between February 2008 and April 2008. Vehicles with less than 100 respondents were not ranked.

The largest reported problems were design-related. Though luxury cars boast some of the industry's most technologically advanced innovations, including wireless communication devices, and navigation and audio systems, this roster of gizmos has resulted in design flaws automakers are working to address.

"Minimizing design problems remains a major challenge for the industry," says David Sargent vice president of automotive research at J.D. Power and Associates, "particularly since new technology, such as navigation and entertainment devices, is becoming increasingly common in today’s new vehicles."

What's more, "issues with difficult-to-use audio and entertainment controls and voice command recognition failure are among the top ten problems most frequently reported by customers," says Sargent of the trade-off that manufacturer’s face of introducing new technology and maintaining quality.

The silver lining, however, is that luxury automakers are heeding the call. The study found that overall quality improvements in the luxury car segment have remained in-line with long-term trends, increasing by 6 % this year over the year prior.

It's no surprise then that luxury brands top J.D. Power’s list of cars with the fewest problems per 100 vehicles. Customer qualms may range from paint chips to inadequate lighting of the dashboard in daylight. Porsche is ranked highest for the third consecutive year averaging 87 (the industry average is 118.) Infiniti occupies second with 98; its EX-Series is the No. 1 entry premium vehicle in the J.D. Power study. This is no mean feat according to Sargent, as in past years "automakers have frequently struggled to achieve very high initial quality with new models."

Increased quality, says Sargent, will lead to greater owner loyalty, a long-term benefit as new users are more likely to criticize than loyal customers.

And given the ubiquity of high technology in vehicles today, he continues, luxury cars can no longer use this to differentiate themselves and instead use pricing and brand image to maintain their premium status.